Air cleaner



May 21, 1935- c. A. wlNsLow 2,002,165

l AIR CLEANER y Filed Jglye, 1953 Patented' May 214, 1935 A UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE A1B. CLEANER Charles A. Winslow, Oakland, Calif.

ApplicationrJuly, 8, 1933, Serial No.. 679,593

l2 Claims.

'I'his invention relates to air cleaners for internal combustion engines and the like and, more particularly, to the type wherein the ller material is maintained in a moist condition preferably by oil from the lubricating system.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of a new and improved iilter having novel means for supplying metered quantities of oil to the iilter material for maintaining the same in a moist condition without using an unnecessary excess amount of oil.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a new and improved lter having novel means'for supplying oil to the iilter material at intervals and for cutting off the supply of cil at other times. I A still further object of the invention is the provision of a new and improved lter in which the filter material is free and unobstructedthat is, the lter material is not enclosed in a casing, together with means for automatically oiling the lter material. A still further object of the invention is the provision of an air lter for internal combustion engines having novel means for metering the oil supplied to the lter for wetting the filter material and which is simple in construction, economical to operate, which may be easily and readily installed, inexpensive to manufacture and which operates emciently.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. l is a' vertical section through an air cleaner embodying the invention, appropriate v.connections with an internal combustion engine being diagrammatically indicated;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the modiiied form of filter construction;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3 of Fig 2; Fig. 4 is a vertical section of a further modied form of iilter;

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5--5 of Fig. 1. Referring now to the drawing,'the reference character III designates an internal combustion of the engine constitute no part. of the present invention, it is not thought necessary tofurther illustrate or describe the same. The iilter I3 com- (Cl. 12S-198) prises a hollow base portion I4 having an outer split sleeve portionIS which is adapted to be clamped to the intake I2 of the carburetor in the usual manner. The base is provided with a passage I6 opening upwardly through which air enters the carburetor. It is also provided with a recess I1 formed by the upwardly extending rim portion I8 extending about the outer edge of the base. The recess Il has its bottom wall sloping downwardly to a discharge conduit I9 as shown at the left in Fig. 1. 'I'he discharge conduit may be provided with a removable plug or with a discharge cock, if desired. The recess Il constitutes a sump for receiving the excess oil and sludge from the lter material, as will presently appear. Mounted within the sump is a channel member 2 I in which is seated the lower end of the hollow lter member 22. The bottom wall of the channel member 2I is provided with openings 23 through which oil may escape into the sump. The upper end of the hollow ilter member is positioned by a cap member 24 which has an annular recess 25 for receiving the upper end of the lter member. This cap member 24 hasits peripheral edge turned upwardly to form a reservoir 26 having a removable closure or cover plate 21 therefor.

The closure 21 is held in position by a threaded stem 28 of an oil cup or receptacle 29 which engages an internally threaded plug 3|V which, in turn, is secured to and extends upwardly from the bottom of the reservoir 26. The bottom of the reservoir is provided abovethe lter material 22 with a plurality of openings 32 through which oil may pass from the reservoir 26 into the upper portion ofthe fllter member 22. 'I'he cap member 24 is held in position by va bolt 33 which extends upwardly through the bottom wall of the passage I6 and is threaded onto the plug 3|, as clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing.

'I'he filtermember 22 may be of any suitable construction. Preferably, though not necessarily, it is composed of laminations of wire mesh, preferably of several dierent mesh, in cylindrical form. The reservoir 26 is preferably filled with suitable packing or absorbent material 34, such 'as asbestos, mineral wool, or the like. Suitable means are provided for automatically supplying oil intermittently to the packing 34 in the reservoir 26. In the form of construction selected to illustrate one embodiment of the invention, means are provided for supplying oil in measured quantities to the reservoir 26 in sufficient amounts to properly maintain the iilter member 22 in moist condition. As shown, the

oil cup 29 has connected to its upper end a conduit 35 which is in communication with the force feed lubricating system of the engine I0. A check valve 36 is provided in the conduit 35 for preventing the return flow of oil in the said conduit.

Slidably mounted in the cup 29 is a plunger 31 which fits loosely therein and is normally held in elevated position by a spring 38. The threaded stem 28 is provided with a passage 39, the upper end of which constitutes a valve seat 4| adapted to receive a valve d2 on the lower side of the plunger 31 for closing said passage. A cross passage 43 in the plug 3! is in communication with the passage 39 for conducting the oil laterally into the packing 34.

When the engine is not operating, the plunger 31 is held in its upper position with the valve 42 elevated above the seat ill, as shown in Fig. l. Upon starting the engine, the oil pump will force oil downward through the conduit 35, past the check valve 35, forcing the plunger 31 onto the seat 4l for closing the passage 39. Then, upon stopping the engine, the spring 38 will elevate the plunger 31, and, since the oil will be prevented from flowing backward through the conduit 35 by the check valve 3E, the oil will iiow past the plunger and then downward through the passage 39 into the reservoir 25. This will be repeated each time the engine is stopped, and, under normal operating conditions, will be suflcient to maintain the filter material properly oiled for removing dust and other foreign matter from the air Without the use of an excess amount of oil. 'Ihe oil will gradually ilow through the openings .32 onto the upper portion of the filter material and flowing downward along this material will maintain the same in moist condition whereby dust and other foreign matter will be removed from the air passing through the lter material as it is drown through the carburetor by the suction of the engine.

When the lter element is made from woven wire laminas, or other sti material, the element need not be enclosed in a casing, and, consequently, the air is not restricted to an appreciable extent in its passage through the cleaner device.

In the form of the device shown in Fig. 2 there is a centrally located perforated tube t2 to which is spot-welded a sheet metal basin 43, equipped with a. removable plug to permit collected oil and dirt to be drawn on. Above the basin is a ring 44 receiving the lower end of the lter 45 composed of woven wire lamin.

A sheet metal oil chamber 46 is provided with a threaded projection 41 connected with the upper end of the tube. The removable cover 48 closes the oil chamber but permits access for replenishing the oil in the packing 49. The operation of this form is substantially the same as that shown in Fig. 1 except as to the supply of oil to the chamber.

In Fig. 4 the base of the air cleaner is a hollow casting 50 having a shoulder 5l against which rests a. catch basin 52. Above the basin isv a filter 53 composed of conical lamin of woven Wire, which are secured between a ring 54 and an oil chamber 55 by long rivets 55. A rod 51 Swiveled in the oil chamber is threaded into a strut 58 extending across the hollow of the base casting.

In this form, the air passes inwardly through the lter and out through the hollow base. The oil in the chamber 55 seeps through the perforations 59 and passes down through the filter. The device is cleaned by unscrewing the rod 51 and dipping it in oil, which operation incidentally lls the oil chamber 55 which is filled with packing 60.

'I'he forms of the device described and shown herein are substantially the same as that disclosed in my Patent No. 1,912,235, May 30, 1933, led September 10, 1928.

It is thought from the foregoing taken in connection with the accompanying drawing that construction and operation of my device will be apparent to those skilled in the art and that changes in size, shape, proportion and details of construction may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A iilter for internal combustion engines comprising filter material, an oil reservoir above the material for oiling the same and means for intermittently supplying oil to said reservoir, and means for discharging the same therefrom onto the filter material in isolated, measured quantities.

2. A filter for internal combustion engines comprising a base member, a cap member, ilter material, means for securing said material between said members, and means for automatically supplying metered isolated quantities of oil to said material.

3. A lter for internal combustion engines comprising a hollow base member, means for connecting the same to the air intake of an internal combustion engine, lter material above said base member, a cap member for engaging the upper end of said lter material, said cap member having a reservoir therein and provided with openings in its bottom wall above said material and means for metering oil and supplying the same to said reservoir for wetting said lter material.

4. In an internal combustion engine provided with a lubricating system, a base member having an air passage, a hollow filter element extending around said passage, means including pressure operated mechanism for supplying isolated, predetermined quantities of oil from the lubricating system to said element at irregular intervals.

5. A filter for internal combustion engines comprising a base, a cap, a hollow roll of woven wire of dilerent mesh secured between said base and top and means for supplying oil to said wire upon the stopping of said engines.

6. In combination, an internal combustion engine having a carburetor and a lubrication circulating system, an air lter for cleaning the air supplied to said carburetor, said lter comprising a hollow member of reticulated material and means for withdrawing lubricating liquid from said system during the operation of the engine and supplying the same only when the engine stops to the upper portion of the reticulated material for flushing the same.

'7. In combination, an internal combustion engine provided with a carburetor, a lter for cleaning the air supplied to said carburetor, said filter comprising an unconi'lned hollow filter element, an oil sump below said element and an oil reservoir above said element and means for discharging isolated, measured quantities of oil from said reservoir for supplying oil to said filter.

8. In an air lter for internal combustionengines, a hollow base, a hollow cylinder of filter material extending about the upper end of said base, a reservoir for containing oil, above said material, a cap for said reservoir, said ma being lmconned between said base and cap, means for supplying metered quantities of oil to said reservoir during the operation of the engine for applying the same to said lter material by gravity upon the stopping of said engine, and a sump surrounding the upper portion of said base beneath said material.

9. In a lter for internal combustion engines, a lter element, means for supporting said element, an oil receptacle, for supplying oil to said lter material, means for supplying oil to said receptacle during the operation of said engine and means for discharging said oil from said recepta/cle only while said engine is not operating.

10. In a lter for internal combustion engines, a lter element, an oil receptacle above said element, a passage for conducting oil from said receptacle to said element, a plunger in said receptacle, a valve controlled by said plunger for closing said passage, means for conducting oil to said receptacle during the operation of said engine for filling said receptacle and for closing said valve and means for opening said valve when said engine stops, whereby the oil in said receptacle will ow onto said element.

11. In an air lter for internal combustion engines, a filter support, means for connecting said support to the intake of an internal combustion engine, a Iilter element carried by said support and means for automatically removing oil fromsaid engine during its operation and for supplying the same to said element only upon the stopping of said engine.

12. In combination, an internal combustion engine having a. force feed lubricating system, an air iilter for said engine, said lter comprising a lter element, an oil reservoir, means controlled by the operation of the engine for conducting liquid fuel from said system to said reservoir, and means for supplying measured, isolated quantities of said oil from said reservoir to said lter. CHARLES A. WINSIOW. 

